Star Crossed Liars ✔

Chapter Twenty Two

Hours bled into days, days bled into weeks and the line between time and reality seemed to blur into nothingness.

Time passed so quickly. Wake up, lie, classes, lie, meals, lie, classes, lie, dinner, lie, sleep.

I felt like everything was catching up to me, I knew Orion was starting to feel it, and I was starting to feel it. There were always consequences to ignoring the bond as I had in the beginning, and there were always consequences to undermining it, to keep it hidden like we were.

It was emotionally taxing, and was taking a toll on me, on both of us. The others had a relationship with their mates that didn't cause problems, would share a bed and do god knows what to keep the bond calm.

Not us though.

I was tired, I always had a headache, I couldn't run because of the pain I would feel, anything that could come from our situation, I was experiencing. And so was Orion.

But we kept going, meeting up in secret and keeping our encounters away from private eyes, just enough to keep us from dissipating completely. It was difficult, but we were making it work.

It was getting harder for them, Orion, Gabe, Colton, Julian, Val, Ivy and Lia. The stakes where higher and everything was more intense, and when it came to our own busy schedules, the only time I would see them was when I came staggering through the dorm room door and meals.

My parents had sent me a message that they had left to France, heading hope for the yearly visit and that they would fill me in on all the family gossip once the tournament was over. That, at least, was something to look forward too.

As the term progressed, I felt myself falling more and more for Orion, longing just to hear his voice. I would find myself drifting off, being able to only think of him.

It was starting to become a distraction to say the least.

Everything about him was perfect, to perfect to even begin to comprehend. Yes, of course, he was gorgeous, but he was kind, and he understood everything, no matter how crazy it was. I was beginning to regret all that time I had spent ignoring him, now only wishing to fill my time with his company.

I knew the mate bond was intensifying, his fingers setting my skin alright as they would run over my bare arms, his lips against mine sending heat pooling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to go further, I wanted to go to the very limit that we could.

But we couldn't.

Not without exposing everything.

The secret was thrilling at this point, but I was beginning to wonder why I was even doing this in the first place, what even was the point?

But I knew what it was in the back of my head, constantly clawing away at my other thoughts. That was enough to keep me from caving.

Ivy had been marked two weeks ago, causing a series of screams to fill our room when she pulled back her collar to show the puncture marks in her neck. 

I felt the pressure rising in my med classes. One person had dropped out, running out of the class in a fountain of tears. I didn't even know her name. I had done at least three more live operations, only last week had I dealt with my first dead body, billing rising the moment that I began to work. They were all preparations for my exams. I had gotten the schedule for those last two weeks of exams, and it was even more hectic than last terms.

Dr Stole had only gotten more intense, ruder and serious.

I was learning, I couldn't ignore that fact, but she certainly hadn't made it easy. To her request, I had changed my writing, neatly printing down every line as to avoid her spells of anger. I would be writing my notes from the board and suddenly feel a chill running down my back, lifting my head slightly to see Dr Stole, leaning over me like a god deciding my fate. She had remained mostly silent, whether because she knew that what she was saying was unacceptable, or Orion had gone behind my back and had a few choice words with her. Only the other day she had a talked with us, telling us about her life in Sanitatem. How she left her tournament and went straight there, building up her career from nothing and turning it into a medical empire.